A team of researchers from Yamagata University's Graduate School of Organic Materials Science, led by Professor Tetsuo Takayama, Quan Jiang and Professor Akihiro Nishioka, has developed an advanced model to evaluate impact energy dissipation in thermoplastics. reinforced with short fibers. This work, published in Polymers, highlights how these materials, especially when used in transportation sectors such as automotive and aerospace, play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by replacing heavier metal components.
The study emphasizes the importance of short fiber reinforced thermoplastics in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, particularly in domestic vehicles and airplanes, where weight reduction is key. The researchers explain that while carbon fiber reinforced plastics have been used in high-end cars and airplanes, their high cost limits their widespread adoption. In contrast, short fiber reinforced thermoplastics offer a more cost-effective alternative, making them an attractive material for practical applications such as automotive body components.
Professors Takayama, Quan Jiang and Akihiro Nishioka focused on the impact resistance of these materials, a fundamental property to ensure safety in transportation. “In our study, we aimed to model and predict the notched impact strength of short fiber reinforced thermoplastic products, which is crucial to understanding how these materials behave under tension,” Professor Takayama said. Using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches, they were able to create a quantitative model that closely matches real-world results, providing a reliable method for predicting the mechanical performance of short fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials.
The results of their study show that the orientation of glass fibers within the thermoplastic matrix plays a vital role in determining impact resistance. Shorter fiber lengths, which occur due to the injection molding process, tend to reduce the overall strength of the material. The researchers found that optimizing fiber orientation and length distribution could significantly improve impact resistance, making short fiber-reinforced thermoplastics more durable in high-stress environments such as vehicle collisions.
Professor Takayama's research also found that fiber-matrix interfacial shear strength is a critical factor governing the mechanical performance of these materials. “Our model revealed a strong correlation between fiber-matrix interface shear strength and impact strength, which could apply to a wide range of fiber orientations and lengths,” Professor Takayama explained. The team's findings have important implications for the future design of lightweight, high-performance materials in the transportation sector.
In conclusion, the study provides an in-depth understanding of the mechanical properties of short fiber reinforced thermoplastics and offers a reliable model to predict their impact resistance. As global efforts to reduce carbon emissions intensify, materials such as short fiber reinforced thermoplastics could play an increasingly important role in achieving sustainability goals by reducing weight and improving vehicle safety. .
Magazine reference
Jiang, Q., Takayama, T., and Nishioka, A. (2023). “Impact energy dissipation and quantitative models of injection molded short fiber reinforced thermoplastics.” Polymers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214297
About the author
Quan JIANG He is a PhD candidate at the Department of Organic Materials Science at Yamagata University. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering in 2018 (from Heilongjiang Institute of Technology, majoring in Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation). He has been a structural design engineer of composite driveshafts at China Taian Composite Materials Facilities Co., Ltd., from 2017 to 2019. During this period, he developed a keen interest in composite materials, particularly the interface that determines the design of composite structures. Since October 2020, full of curiosity about the study of interface strength in composite materials, he began pursuing his master's and doctoral degrees at Yamagata University. During his undergraduate studies, he proposed a method for evaluating interfacial shear strength (IFSS) based on shear tests on short beams. This method directly measures the IFSS of fiber reinforced thermoplastic (FRTP) injection molded products by inducing high shear stress by shortening the distance between support points in a three-point bending test. Based on the high-precision IFSS measured by this method, he further proposed a quantitative model for the Charpy impact strength with FRTP notches. He is the author and co-author of six publications that have been published in international peer-reviewed journals. His fields of interest include: interfacial shear strength, fiber reinforced thermoplastic, notched Charpy impact strength, solidification temperature and injection molding. His research vision is to contribute to the development of resistant and environmentally friendly composite materials.
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